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Too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
Anyone seriously looking into the cause of the city's monumental financial difficulties need look no farther than the list of the 50 highest-paid municipal employees, made public by the Elia administration last week.
All 50 grossed at least $65,000 in 2000, with some getting as much as $110,000. The mayor's name did not appear on the list, nor did that of the city administrator, a city court judge, corporation counsel, director of public works or any of the other decision-makers here.
The smart guys -- and they are all guys -- are the brass in the city's police and fire departments. The same guys, it might be noted, whose concern for order and safety is so great they formed an intimidating picket line, complete with firetruck drive-bys, outside a private business a couple of weeks ago in order to show the mayor who's really boss here.
When the owner of the business called police, and the mayor expressed her displeasure over the spectacle, the police department report on the incident was hand-delivered -- presumably by an off-duty officer -- to the local daily newspaper within minutes.
We find it hard to muster much sympathy for the plight of those making two, three and even four times the average salary of workers in Niagara Falls. We also find it troubling that, in some cases, the city employees' actual salaries are nearly double their base salaries.
The union heads and rank-and-file workers argue that their wages are comparable to those in "private industry." This is simply not true.
In fact, we doubt anyone could find 50 people employed in the City of Niagara Falls -- outside of a governmental or quasi-governmental sphere and not counting those who have taken the risks associated with starting their own businesses -- who earn more than $65,000 a year.
But using the private industry model can be helpful. When a company is taken over by a conglomerate in the private sector, or finds itself up against the wall financially, it's generally not the lowest-paid workers who find their jobs in jeopardy.
It's middle management, and perhaps that's where those currently working on next year's budget ought to be looking.